


Light (one-shot)

by Rose1832



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Drabble, Fix-It, Fluff, M/M, fix-it AU, quickwrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 14:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14750432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose1832/pseuds/Rose1832
Summary: “You always talk like that, Atem,” and he could just hear Yugi rolling his eyes. "When you got your memories back, did you somehow forget that we’re friends?”“Oh, is that what we are?” Atem’s voice was tinged with amusement.A moment in the sun on a grassy hillside.





	Light (one-shot)

“Atem?”

The ancient Pharaoh opened an eye and was greeted with two wide, soft violet ones in return. Atem had decided months ago that this was something he would never get tired of. No matter how many times that soft voice called his name- his  _ real _ name- his heart would always flutter at the sound. He felt the corners of his lips pull into a soft smile.

“Yugi,” the Pharaoh returned mildly, letting his eye fall closed once more. “How may I be of assistance?” He could hear Yugi let out a small huff of breath, both amused and annoyed, and then a relaxed sigh as the boy reclined in the grass beside him. Atem pulled an arm from behind his head without thought, shifting the weight of his head into the crook of his other elbow. His newly-freed hand found the top of Yugi’s in the grass, resting there comfortably as it had done many times before.

“You always talk like that, Atem,” and he could just  _ hear  _ Yugi rolling his eyes. “Like you’re talking to a  _ client _ . When you got your memories back, did you somehow forget that we’re friends?”

“Oh, is that what we are?” Atem’s voice was tinged with amusement as his fingers curled between Yugi’s, spooning their hands together purposefully. The two had never spoken candidly about exactly what they were. They didn’t need to. They were comfortable with one another; they knew, without saying,  _ exactly _ what they were. Yugi scoffed again.

“You know what I mean,” Yugi curled his fingers gently into his own palm, pressing them in around Atem’s. The Pharaoh didn’t need to open his eyes to see that his Aibou was blushing, although he found it hard to resist the temptation. Yugi was cute when he blushed; a light dusting of pink would flush just under his eyes, and although Yugi was very much a young man by now Atem would always see the shadow of the small boy who had first solved his puzzle. Yugi thought it was embarrassing. Atem thought it was adorable.

“Oh, do I?” Atem was toying with him now. He let go of Yugi’s hand to roll over onto one side, facing the younger boy, propping his head on the palm of the hand that had previously been full. His prediction had been right; Yugi pointedly refused to open his eyes as his cheeks now had a healthy red glow about them. “You never answered my question, Aibou. What is it that you wanted from me?”

At this, Yugi’s eyes opened again, all irritation vanishing from his features. A wide smile broke over his expression, and Atem knew this face well. It was one Yugi got whenever he had a question; not a question about life or death, or for the fate of the world, but something he was curious about. Something he wanted to know because he  _ enjoyed  _ it. For a while, when Atem had been an inhabitant of Yugi’s mind, he had gone without seeing that expression as the fate of the universe had remained in constant danger. Since Atem had been granted his own body and had his memories returned to him by grace of Osiris, however, Atem had seem this expression every day.

“I just…” Yugi paused, shifting to turn towards him. “I wanna know more about it.”

Atem laughed, rolling once again onto his back with his hands behind his head, gaze floating up to the cloudless sky overhead. Aside from the smell of fresh grass, Atem loved days like this. Since his memory had returned he could think of nothing but the days of old, where warm breezes had shifted the desert sands around his family’s royal estate. He seldom remembered a day of rain, and although the grass smell was pleasant and crisp it would still never be the same as the warm clay under his bare feet.

“Well, then, Other Me,” he chuckled, using a name they’d once called one another in seriousness and now was employed both for humor and affection. “Tell me, what are your questions this time?”

“I don’t know,” Yugi hummed. “I didn’t really have a question. I just want to know about it.” There was a pause between them, filled with the swish of a lazy breeze and the loud buzz of distant cicadas. Then, he added, “Tell me a story from your childhood.”

Atem had to think about this one. There were many stories from his childhood that he wanted to tell Yugi, many more that he remembered with all the vividity of having lived them yesterday. Osiris had really outdone himself when restoring Atem’s memories after the final duel. He’d even gone so far as to give Atem his own, permanent body; one like the one he remembered having in his life as a pharaoh. Rather than Yugi’s fair tone, Atem’s skin was a rich bronze, with firm muscles where Yugi’s frame was gentler. He’d grown up under the sun, learning and growing as he needed to become a pharaoh but still, until he’d reached the age of twelve, being allowed the spare time to be a boy.

“Alright,” Atem began, and Yugi reclined back into the grass to await the story. “I believe I know which one you’d like to hear.”

“Oh? And which one would that be, Oh Great and Mighty Pharaoh?” Yugi teased, shifting perpendicular to Atem to rest his head on the older boy’s abdomen. Atem chuckled, a hand moving naturally to stroke Yugi’s hair back from his forehead.

“You might find you relate to this one,” the Pharaoh began. “It’s about a boy, a game, and the friends he found through playing it.”

As Atem began to talk, Yugi closed his eyes. The Pharaoh was fully aware that Yugi had fallen asleep shortly after the beginning of his tale. Yugi was a light sleeper, but he could doze off when left in a quiet room; Atem had quickly learned he was especially susceptible when his hair was toyed with, and had used this many times when Yugi was stressed or restless in the nighttime. Now, lain on the grassy hillside, a warm breeze lulling through the air and the white noise of the distant cicadas, the older boy allowed his eyes to close as well. Atem did not doze off the way that Yugi did, and even after achieving his own, human body (and all the human needs that came with it) could not sleep when Yugi would be otherwise unguarded. But since the two had become comfortable with one another as separate bodies, Atem had allowed his guard to drop in the boy’s presence. He was Yugi’s protector, always, but the picture had become more complicated since then.

Yugi let out a small sigh in his sleep, nuzzling his cheek into the Pharaoh’s side.  _ Yes _ , he thought to himself,  _ more complicated indeed _ . But the complexity, like art, only served to make it more beautiful.

Atem reclined back into the grass, allowing his mind to wander.

 

It must have only been a few odd hours before the calls of Yugi’s grandfather began to approach the hill. When Atem opened his eyes once more he was greeted with a setting sun, casting gentle waves of orange and gold over a deepening sky. He gently pushed himself up onto an elbow and, sure enough, Yugi was still dozing happily on his stomach, snoring like a kitten and completely relaxed.

Atem couldn’t resist the soft smile that tugged at his lips. His Aibou was, without a doubt, the most precious thing in the world to him.

“Yugi? Atem? Yu- Oh!” Grandpa’s face crested the hill and his eyes fell upon the two boys, brightening with surprise and then softening with understanding. Atem flicked his eyes from Yugi to Grandpa, who chuckled quietly and nodded as the Pharaoh held a finger to his lips. He continued in a whisper, “Whenever you boys are ready, I’ve got dinner on the stove,” then turned back down the hill towards the game shop.

When Grandpa had disappeared from view, Atem allowed himself another heartbeat to admire the view of the boy before him, then remorsefully shifted his leg so as to jostle Yugi’s head. Yugi mumbled in his sleep, face pinching in agitation, and Atem couldn’t stifle the laugh that bubbled from his chest. At this, Yugi raised a fist to paw at his eyes before allowing one to peek open, looking around in a daze and at last settling on Atem’s smiling face above him.

“Hey,” greeted the smaller boy with a smile, which quickly became a pout and a gentle punch to the shoulder. “You woke me up!”

Atem laughed freely at Yugi’s indignant pout. “Yes, Aibou, and I apologize. But Grandpa called, and it’s time for dinner.”

Yugi’s eyes brightened at the promise of food. “Did he say what it was?” Atem had barely opened his mouth to answer when a loud  _ grrrr _ churned from Yugi’s stomach, causing them both to stop and laugh loudly. “I guess it really doesn’t matter, huh? Oh well,” he curled up into a sitting position, stretching his balled fists high above his head. “If the great and mighty pharaoh would deign to join his humble peasants for a feast- ahgh!” Yugi cried out joyfully as Atem grabbed his sides and spun him to the ground, poised over him with a daring grin.

“Trying to call yourself my servant, hmm?” Teased the pharaoh, earning himself a playful shove. Yugi giggled and slipped a hand over Atem’s shoulder, who allowed himself to be pulled in for a small but meaningful kiss before the two pulled apart, smiling like fools.

“Well, then, humble servant,” chuckled Atem with another peck to Yugi’s forehead, “Shall we go investigate that promised feast of yours?”

Yugi’s stomach let out another loud grumble and he rolled his eyes dramatically. “I guess, if you’re gonna twist my arm,” he sighed, then broke into a giggle and rolled onto his feet. “C’mon. I’m sure we don’t wanna keep Grandpa waiting.”

The last rays of sun dipped below the horizon. Atem didn’t notice.

He had his own light to guide him home.


End file.
